Recipes

Our recipe section will feature new recipes each week, using the freshest produce and vegetables available in the Southeast!

Let’s give thanks to eggs, sour cream, cheddar, Parmesan and chives for giving leftover mashed potatoes (Or fresh – if you don’t have any leftovers!) a new lease on life!
No more pushing them to the back of your refrigerator hoping they’ll disappear. This will make you wish for leftovers.

The potato puffs are baked in a cupcake pan (I use a square one made by Wilton) until golden and crusty on the outside with soft, fluffy middles that just about melt in your mouth.

They don’t taste like leftovers. Not one single bit.

From here on out I will intentionally make mashed potatoes for the sole purpose of turning them into these puffs. Forever and ever. They put mashed potatoes to shame. I see lots of variations in my future. . . and in yours. . .

Truly you can use any type of mashed potato and they need not be leftover. They’re worth the trouble of making fresh.

Once you have your base of mashed potato and eggs you can mix just about anything into them – cheese, fresh herbs, cooked bacon. . . whatever flavors you like with potatoes.

The chili is slow-cooked giving it a rich flavor, making it thick and hearty. The liquid cooks off leaving behind a ton of concentrated flavor.

When I was a kid I painstakingly picked every single bean and piece of vegetable out of my chili so all I was left with was meat. Never mind that it took half the night, there was no way on Earth I was going to eat them. Call me a picky eater.

I now know the depth of flavor all those onions, peppers and garlic were giving the chili and they rank up there as my most used and most loved vegetables.

The beer is entirely optional and you can use your favorite type of pork and beans or baked beans. If you don’t have a favorite look for one without high fructose corn syrup.

Penne pasta tossed in garlicky broccoli and olive oil with a hint of heat from red pepper flakes topped with plenty of Parmesan cheese for serving.

Simple, easy and completely delicious.

Broccoli florets are cooked in a skillet with lots of olive oil and whole garlic cloves to infuse them with flavor. Once the broccoli is tender the whole cloves are taken out and minced garlic is added in along with red pepper flakes.

It’s tossed together with the pasta and finished with lots of Parmesan cheese.

This is the perfect meatless meal and even works as a side dish to chicken or steak.

It’s also versatile meaning you can add to it – cooked chicken, shrimp or steak, more veggies and you can spice it up even more if you like with red pepper flakes.

Once, eons ago I tried those frozen taquitos from the supermarket. After just one bite, I concluded they weren’t edible. Not by me.

My taste buds revolted and my stomach flip-flopped. The entire box went into the trash and I never, ever bought any other again. I was too chicken to even try another brand.

After that bad experience, I didn’t even think about taquitos again until a few months ago. Homemade is definitely the way to go.

Not only for the quality ingredients you can put into them but because they’re highly adaptable to all your very own favorite taco fixin’s.

You can use shredded chicken or ground turkey in place of the ground beef, leave out the avocado or add guacamole instead, add in chopped lettuce or cilantro. . . whatever you’re in the mood for.

I used a mix of both corn and flour tortillas and found that my family liked the flour ones a lot better.

We also prefer them pan-fried. This adds a layer of flavor and decadence that is unmatched in the baked version.

For those of you who do prefer baking, I’ve also included those directions at the end of the recipe.

To bake them: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line them up on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and spray them lightly with vegetable spray. Bake 10 - 14 minutes or until golden brown and hot on the inside (you might need to test one!).